Bangladeshvs Bahrain

Bangladesh vs Bahrain Semifinal Preview

Bangladesh vs Bahrain 1st semifinal football match of Bangabandhu Gold Cup 2016 will be held on Monday Jan 18, 2016 at 5:30pm local time (1130 GMT) in Dhaka Stadium. Bahrain football team is a strong opponent and Bangladesh will face tough time against the Arabs.

Though Bangladesh are participating in the tournament as part of their South Asian/SA Games 2016 preparation, they have set a preliminary target of qualifying for the semifinals, and they want to begin the campaign on a winning note against a side which has brought players born between 1995 and 1996. Now the Bangladesh team want to take a place in the final of Bangabandhu Gold Cup 2016.

Bangladesh coach Maruful Haque hoped his boys will grab the scoring chances that fell in their way. “Overall, scoring remains the main headache for us, we have been working both physically and mentally on it, Bahrain has proved their competency by reaching the semis, we respect them but we will take the field to win and to be in the final” said Maruf.

His counterpart Marzan Eid however, cautioned Bangladesh ‘There is nothing to be afraid, we are ready to face Bangladesh at their home ground, football is a game of 11 X 11, we are physically and mentally ready to challenge Bangladesh, i rate Bahrain as the favorites in the semis” said Marzan.

Hosts Bangladesh will be looking towards their strikers to fire to make it to the final of the Bangabandhu Gold Cup when they take on Bahrain in the first semifinal at the Bangabandhu National Stadium today.

Since a convincing 4-2 win over against Sri Lanka in the tournament opener, the home side have struggled to find the target in last two matches where they played out draw against Malaysia XI and Nepal. The lack of scoring from the forwards is the main cause of concern for Bangladesh, who are however pinning hopes on striking duo of Shakhwat Hossain Rony and Nabib Jewaj Jibon ahead of the crucial match against Bahrain, a team which comprises players born between 1995 and 1996.

Even though young Jibon appeared anonymous in all three outings, Rony looked a bit better scoring a brace in the opening match. But he failed to capitalize on a number of chances against Malaysia and Nepal, and the onus is now on the striking pair to redeem themselves so that the hosts make it to the final, a stage where they played in the last edition too.

“We had good ball possession and created more chances in every match, but there is still weakness in scoring and we have worked on it mentally and physically. Hopefully it will not be a problem in the semifinal and we will get goals,” said Bangladesh coach Maruful Haque at the pre-match conference at the BFF House yesterday.

Not only the strikers, the whole team have been struggling to find rhythm since the SAFF Suzuki Cup where they were eliminated from the group stages with below-par performances, and the team badly needs to get back to the performance they displayed against Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan during the World Cup and Asia Cup Qualifying matches on home ground earlier last year.

To replicate that sort of performance, there is no alternative but to perform together as a team starting from the goalkeeper to the strikers alongside the defenders and the midfielders.

“As a player I always want to perform better than the previous match and I think every player thinks that way. We also know that the result lies on a good performance and we are ready to give our best and get the result,” said captain Mamunul Islam.

Mamunul however gave emphasis on the need to ignite the forwards to reduce the pressure on the rest of the team.

“If the forwards can avail early chances, which they are getting in every match, in the semifinal, our confidence level will be high for the rest of the game. Our only target is to make it to the final and everyone has the mentality to perform well,” said the lad from Chittagong.

Bangladesh Olympic team’s 1-1 draw against Bahrain may be an inspiration for Mamunul and Co, but the captain believes the Bahrain players are more skillful with better running ability and they won’t have any chance if they do not run better than Bahrain and deliver their best performance in the tournament.

Bahrain coach Marjan Eid was upbeat about his team, labeling them as the ‘favorites’ against the home side.

“I have confidence in my players. It would be easier for us because Bangladesh have the pressure in front of their home crowd. Hopefully it will be a good game for my young players to get experience,” said Eid.

Bangladesh vs Bahrain Football Match Historical Stats

Bangladesh football team met Bahrain only once in 1979 Presidents Cup Football and lost by 2-0.

Games won:

0

Games drawn:

0

Games lost:

1

Date

Match

Result

Score

Competition

08 Sep 1979

Bangladesh v Bahrain

L

0-2

Presidents Cup

Bangladesh vs Bahrain Live Channel 9 Online TV

Bangladesh vs Bahrain Live TV Telecast will be available on Channel 9. BAN vs BAH Live Streaming online can be watched on RootsBD.com .